Macmillan Publishers

'Abbafab', the hugely popular Abba tribute band, are in trouble. Gemma Redden has just broken her ankle and finding a new singer to fill her white platform boots at such late notice isn't going to be easy. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the youngest Redden sister, Mia, reluctantly agrees to don the blonde wig and sky-blue hot pants. For Mia, a shy piano teacher who has felt third best all her life, this is her big chance to prove herself to her two older sisters, Gemma and Wendy. Meanwhile, Mia's oldest friend, Alva Ryan, is having a life crisis of her own, Her builder boyfriend and all-round-good-guy, Sean Malone, has just walked out and this time he swears he's not coming back. And Alva's sister, Kerry, is having rather unusual problems of her own. Things come to a head when Wendy has a terrible accident. Because Wendy is harbouring a secret that could blow the band apart and devastate the close bond of the Redden sisters. But secrets have a way of coming out when you least expect them to. And sometimes even the best of sisters gets it horribly wrong.

There is only one Just William. The loveable imp has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting hundreds of thousands of readers for years. Here the Outlaws plan a day of non-stop adventure. The only problem is, William is meant to be babysitting. But William won't let that stop him having fun with his gang — he'll just bring the baby along!

There is only one Just William. The loveable imp has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting hundreds of thousands of readers for years. Here William is keeping himself very busy indeed — mainly causing chaos! After all, Aunt Lucy did tell him that 'A Busy Day is a Happy Day'...

There is only one Just William. The loveable imp has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting hundreds of thousands of readers for years. Here William and his mate Ginger have to endure bankruptcy — they don't even have enough money for sweets. Then William comes up with a fantastic idea — they'll sell Ginger's twins cousins as slaves!

There is only one Just William. The loveable imp has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting hundreds of thousands of readers for years. Here, lisping, frilly-dressed Violet Elizabeth becomes William’s worst nightmare. Not only does she expect him to play fairies – she even expects him to kiss her!

Legal terminology need not be intimidating, difficult and obscure. This book provides an ideal introduction to the meaning of the core vocabulary which confronts anyone approaching the study of Law for the first time. A particular feature is its explanation of how Latin words and phrases should be pronounced, as well as what they mean.

Through the centuries, Russia has swung sharply between successful expansionism, catastrophic collapse, and spectacular recovery. This illuminating history traces these dramatic cycles of boom and bust from the late Neolithic age to Ivan the Terrible, and from the height of Communism to the truncated Russia of today. Philip Longworth explores the dynamics of Russia’s past through time and space, from the nameless adventurers who first penetrated this vast, inhospitable terrain to a cast of dynamic characters that includes Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great, and Stalin. His narrative takes in the magnificent, historic cities of Kiev, Moscow, and St. Petersburg; it stretches to Alaska in the east, to the Black Sea and the Ottoman Empire to the south, to the Baltic in the west and to Archangel and the Artic Ocean to the north. Who are the Russians and what is the source of their imperialistic culture? Why was Russia so driven to colonize and conquer? From Kievan Rus’ — the first-ever Russian state, which collapsed with the invasion of the Mongols in the thirteenth century — to ruthless Muscovy, the Russian Empire of the eighteenth century and finally the Soviet period, this groundbreaking study analyses the growth and dissolution of each vast empire as it gives way to the next. Refreshing in its insight and drawing on a vast range of scholarship, this book also explicitly addresses the question of what the future holds for Russia and her neighbors, and asks whether her sphere of influence is growing.

Dear Reader: Mercury's in retrograde, and folks in Beaumont, South Carolina are dealing with gossip, scandal, misunderstandings, and more secrets than ever. Local pediatrician Maggie Farnsworth has even bigger worries. Her wild-girl past has caught up with her in the form of her ex-boyfriend, a jailbird who just flew the coop--and is bent on tracking down Maggie and her daughter. Fortunately, FBI agent Zack Madden is on hand for protection. Unfortunately, his presence is turning up the heat on an attraction Maggie simply has no time for...or does she? But Maggie and Zack aren't the only ones getting busy: Fleas, the hound dog, is up to his old tricks — this time with Butterbean, a very allluring...goat? Jamie Swift and millionaire Max Holt have babies on the brain. And resident psychic-slash-astrologer Destiny is fighting a crush of her own. Since the town's ice cream parlor is a magnet for gossip, no one can keep a secret and the sticky situations are getting even stickier... It's the wildest time yet in the town we love to write about, with the characters we can't get enough of. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a FULL SCOOP of fun, adventure, and romance. Janet and Charlotte

angerous sex, family secrets, irresistible power, mega money, and two murders equal one reckless week inNew York… In «Lovers & Players», the Diamond family rules. Red Diamond is an abusive and much-loathed billionaire. His three sons, Max, Chris, and Jett, are summoned to New York for a family meeting which rocks their world. Diahann, a beautiful black ex-singer, works as Red’s housekeeper—a job her daughter, Liberty, does not approve of. A waitress and would-be singer herself, Liberty has dreams of her own and while she pursues them, Damon P. Donnell, married hip-hop mogul supreme, pursues her. Young New York heiress Amy Scott-Simon is engaged to marry Max. At her bachelorette party she runs into Jett. Jett has no idea who Amy is. She also doesn’t realize who he is. A one-night fling leads to major complications. Now the lives of these characters will intertwine, forever changing their destinies, in this highly charged love story about family relationships and deadly choices.

For centuries, Rome had ruled from Africa to the wilds of Britain. Now, from across a broad plain of waving grass, a new enemy had poured out of the East—to be led by a man whose goal was not just victory in battle, but the end of an empire... In his novels of ancient warfare, Michael Curtis Ford captures the roar, clamor and horror of battle as well as the intimate moments of human choice upon which history turns. In his extraordinary new work, he brings to life the buckling Roman empire in 400 A.D., a jagged, sprawling realm of foreign fighters, unstable rulers, and battle lines stretched too far. At this pivotal moment, General Flavius Aetius is forced into a battle he does not want but cannot afford to lose. Once Flavius lived among the wild Huns, rode their stout warhorses and became like a son to their king. Now, he faces a man who once saved his life, a man he fears, loves and admires... a man named Attila—the most dangerous enemy Rome has ever known....

A thrilling, cross-continent adventure, this classic by «New York Times» bestselling author Smith tells the story of combat flying in Israel and violence in the African bush. But above all, it tells a compelling love story.

Stephanie is stalked by a maniac returned from the grave for the sole purpose of putting her into a burial plot of her own. He’s killed before, and he’ll kill again if given the chance. Caught between staying far away from the bounty hunter business and staying alive, Stephanie reexamines her life and the possibility that being a bounty hunter is the solution rather than the problem. After disturbingly brief careers at the button factory, Kan Klean Dry Cleaners, and Cluck-in-a-Bucket, Stephanie takes an office position in security, working for Ranger, the sexiest, baddest bounty hunter and businessman on two continents. Tempers and temperatures rise as competition ratchets up between the two men in her life—her on-again, off-again boyfriend, tough Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and her boss, Ranger. Can Stephanie Plum take the heat? Can you?

In their runaway bestsellerGettysburg, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen answered the Civil War’s ultimate hypothetical question: What if Lee’s army had won the victory within its grasp at Gettysburg in 1863? Now, through the same extraordinary research and brilliant character studies, we take the next step of a provocative journey: The Army of Northern Virginia is poised to invade Washington, D.C.. A besieged Lincoln calls on a general with a drinking problem to save the Union. And in the East, Ulysses Grant faces a storm of calamity and rivalry—and a war on the verge of being lost... In this extraordinary book, the battlefront and home fronts come alive through the eyes of ordinary soldiers and such little known characters as General Herman Haupt, commander of the U.S. railroads, and the politician turned soldier General Dan Sickles—a political arch-enemy of Grant’s. As the best of plans are undone, and every strategy countered by another, GRANT COMES EAST builds to a stunning portrait of the war that was—and the war that might have been...

From one of the great masters of British crime writing comes the stunning first novel in a new mystery series introducing Detective Superintendent Roy Grace It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace — a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife — is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancée, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ought to know Michael Harrison's whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot to gain — more than anyone realizes. For one man's disaster is another man's fortune... Dead simple...

»Heaven save us from ourselves. And if you can’t manage that, I’d settle for saving me from me. Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water, here I am again, drowning for all to see. Not waving, as the troubled swimmer once famously said. I busied myself with any household task I could find... « Recently widowed but putting a brave face on it all (thanks to a not insignificant windfall) Helen’s only problem, it seems, is the imminent arrival of her fortieth birthday. Not something she can possibly avoid, ignore or sulk about – not with friends like Leoni and sisters like Julia around... And there is much to celebrate. A beautiful new flat, gorgeous hospitable neighbours and a delicious sense of freedom that only money can buy. Until, that is, money becomes the one big fat problem in Helen’s life and she becomes part of the unwilling army of the employed. But it is no ordinary job that Helen is qualified for, in fact she is qualified for precious little, which leads to her first ever encounter with ‘the boss from hell’...

The story opens on the day that the Western Roman Empire collapses finally in 470AD, as the Last Emperor of Rome is encamped protected by the Nova Invicta Legion. All is lost in the space of a few minutes as a horde of Barbarians sweep through the camp in the fog, kill the Imperial family and take the young Emperor captive. The Roman Empire is in ruins... But all is not lost. From the dust of battlefields emerges a small team of invincible warriors — The Last Legion. Their task is to rescue the Emperor and his enigmatic tutor and to try and resurrect the glory of Rome. All their strength of character and bravery come into play as they guide the last Caesar in a dramatic journey of escape through a devastated Italy and Northern Europe to their ultimate destinies in the land of the Britons... and the beginning of a new legend.

For the first time in decades The Eternal City is paralysed by a blizzard. And a gruesome discovery is made in the Pantheon — one of Rome's most ancient and revered architectural treasures. Covered by softly falling snow is the body of a young woman — her back horribly mutilated... But before Costa, Peroni and Rome's Questura can begin a formal investigation the US Embassy has brought in its own people, FBI Agents who want the case closed down as quickly and discreetly as possible. But Costa is determined to find out why — and as the FBI grudgingly admits that this corpse is not the first, the mutilations of the woman's body point to Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man — and to a conspiracy so sinister and buried so deep, that only two people know its true, crazed meaning.

»Mastering Practical Criticism» offers students of English Literature at advanced and degree levels a clear, well-explained guide to mastering the skills of critical appreciation. It starts with ways of unlocking meaning in literary texts and proceeds through each stage of the process to the final essay response. Students are given useful and practical advice on organising their material as they analyse the text, thus saving valuable time in examinations. This is a skills-based guide, offering plenty of thoroughly worked through examples, designed to build confidence and remove some of the anxiety that frequently accompanies unseen critical analysis.

Welcome to the world of the Instrumentalities of the Night, where imps, demons, and dark gods rule in the spaces surrounding upstart humanity. At the edges of the world stand walls of ice which push slowly forward to reclaim the land for the night. And at the world’s center, in the Holy Land where two great religions were born, are the Wells of Ihrain, the source of the greatest magics. Over the last century the Patriarchs of the West have demanded crusades to claim the Wells from the Pramans, the followers of the Written. Now an uneasy truce extends between the Pramans and the West, waiting for a spark to start the conflict anew. Then, on a mission in the Holy Land, the young Praman warrior Else is attacked by a creature of the Dark—in effect, a minor god. Too ignorant to know that he can never prevail over such a thing, he fights it and wins, and in so doing, sets the terrors of the night against him. As a reward for his success, Else is sent as a spy to the heart of the Patriarchy to direct their attention away from further ventures into the Holy Lands. Dogged by hidden enemies and faithless allies, Else witnesses senseless butchery and surprising acts of faith as he penetrates to the very heart of the Patriarchy and rides alongside their armies in a new crusade against his own people. But the Night rides with him, too, sending two of its once-human agents from the far north to assassinate him. Submerged in his role, he begins to doubt his faith, his country, even his family. As his mission careens out of control, he faces unanswerable questions about his future. It is said that God will know his own, but can one who has slain gods ever know forgiveness?

Elizabeth Darcy and her beloved husband Fitzwilliam are taking on the responsibility of finding a suitable suitor for Elizabeth's younger sister Kitty, thereby assuring her a proper place in society. The angels smile on the young and a perfect match is found, and wedding plans are soon under way. Suddenly a change in personality occurs in Kitty's soon to be model husband-a change so striking as to jeopardize not just the Darcys' social standing, but their lives as well. A mysterious mirror, an insidious reprobate from the past, and matters far beyond the social circles around Pemberly all come into play in a dangerous puzzle, where the consequences may be the exchange of a soul for a soul. Once again the Darcys take center stage as the Regency era's answer to «The Thin Man's» Nick and Nora, searching for truth between tea times, amid the social whirl of Jane Austen's England.

Bad guys tremble at the sound of his name! Meet Melvin Beederman. He’s a pretty good superhero, even though it always takes him five or six tries to get launched and flying. His weakness (every superhero has one) is bologna, which makes it hard to go into a deli. Still, Melvin manages to keep the city of Los Angeles free of nasty villains—once he’s airborne. Crash! Splat! Thud! Kabonk! This series has it all: hilarious story lines, amazing classic-comic-inspired illustrations, fearless new superheroes, and SNACKS! Bad guys tremble at the sound of his name! Melvin loves fighting crime in Los Angeles, until the McNasty Brothers, the baddest guys of all, start robbing banks—and Melvin’s superpowers mysteriously disappear. Enter Candace, a third-grade actress with some surprising new talents. Once they team up, nothing can beat these partners in uncrime. Nothing but bologna, that is...

Bad guys tremble at the sound of his name! Crime is at an all-time low in Los Angeles—but not for long. The McNasty Brothers have escaped from prison, and they want REVENGE. The superheroes need all their noggin power, and a little help from a pretzel-loving rat, to capture the baddest-smelling villains around.

Bad guys tremble at the sound of his name! Someone is out to get the Grateful Fred, Melvin Beederman’s all-time favorite rock-and-roll band. Can he and his partner-in-uncrime, Candace, find out who it is before it’s too late? Or will Joe the Okay Guy turn into Joe the Bad Guy and put an end to the Grateful Fred once and for all? In this third installment of the Melvin Beederman series, only the narrator knows for sure!

Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. Then he was discovered by the recruiters for the Battle School. For Earth was at war — a terrible war with an inscrutable alien enemy. A war that humanity was near to losing. But the long distances of interstellar space has given hope to the defenders of Earth — they had time to train military geniuses up from childhood, forging them into an irresistible force in the high-orbital facility called the Battle School. That story is told in two books, the beloved classic Ender's Game, and its parallel, Ender's Shadow. Bean was the smallest student at the Battle School, but he became Ender Wiggins' right hand. Since then he has grown to be a power on Earth. He served the Hegemon as strategist and general in the terrible wars that followed Ender's defeat of the alien empire attacking Earth. Now he and his wife Petra yearn for a safe place to build a family — something he has never known — but there is nowhere on Earth that does not harbor his enemies — old enemies from the days in Ender's Jeesh, new enemies from the wars on Earth. To find security, Bean and Petra must once again follow in Ender's footsteps. They must leave Earth behind, in the control of the Hegemon, and look to the stars.